YouTube Channel Update

As you guys probably know, I've been trying to revamp my YouTube channel the last few weeks. I started off by going back and adding closed captioning to all my videos. I am happy to say that as of tonight, all my older videos are fully captioned. Of the new set of four I posted today, only the first one is captioned; hopefully I can get the other three up to speed tomorrow.

Speaking of new videos, check it out! I did a four-part series today just briefly introducing people to my crystal collection.

August 24th, 2015

I had my first round of classes today, and on the whole, they went pretty well. I did spend a couple of hours doing homework this afternoon, but it luckily wasn't anything too stressful. I was able yesterday to read my new book from the thrift store, but by the time I finished it, I didn't get the chance to do a review. Hopefully I can bang one out in short order here.

Once again, the title of this was We'Moon '07: Gaia Rhythms for Womyn. The 2007 theme was "On Purpose".

This was a datebook and sort of almanac for the year 2007, but it also contained a lot of general astrological information, poetry, short stories, information on the sabbats, and lots of gorgeous illustrations. Interestingly, the calendar component also followed the lunar calendar, so there was that element of femininity to it.

Parts of this book were really great, and parts I was less interested in. The spelling of "women" as "womyn" threw me off a bit. I do have grapheme > color synesthesia, and any time the spelling of something is altered, it also changes the color of the word, so that was weird. They did it, they explained, to create a word etymologically separate from the word "men"; "women", "female", and etcetera are all obviously derived from words referring to the male gender, which the authors apparently found too patriarchal. I sympathize with the sentiment, but found their solution to read as rather contrived.

Besides that small linguistic criticism, I found it to be very readable, and actually more inclusive than I had been afraid it would be. Obviously the calendar was eight years out of date, but if this sounds like the sort of thing you'd want to look into, they are offering a 2016 datebook on their website here.

The message of this book, On Purpose, was really about intention, and using one's energies to focus on the future. A lot of the works asked, what can I, as a person, do to make the world a better place for future generations, and I think that's a message which still bears relevance eight years later. Much of the discussion was about the environment and climate change, but social justice was also a prevalent theme.

There was a poem about being gender-nonconforming, some art and a story by disabled women, works which crossed racial lines... In general, it struck me as being one of the more intersectional books I've come across.

I'd originally bought the book thinking maybe I'd cut out the artwork and do a collage or something, but now that I've read it... Yeah, I think that's just going to stay intact on my bookshelf.

A few other things from today...

That's my "back to school" picture outside the design building.

And then, I was able to pick some sage today!

I only got a couple of leaves, but remember that spiral garden I helped build last spring? Sage and kale were about the only things that grew, and there's a lot of them! I'll probably harvest more gradually, but I need to clean out another jar first.

August 20th, 2015

I made another video for YouTube today. It's a little tour of my meditation shrine-altar-thing.

I strive to make my practice as accessible as possible to as wide a range of people as possible. I'm certain that I'm not always successful, but I'm also happy to hear suggestions on what I can do to improve my work. Yesterday, I discovered that YouTube has an option to created closed captioning for one's videos. This would allow hard of hearing or deaf individuals to watch my content, and obviously that's a very good thing. To turn on the captions, you have to mouse over the video so the timeline appears, and then click the button near the volume control which says CC.

The way I've been doing it, I basically have to transcribe everything. This is a quick thing to do for one video, but not so quick when one has 20+ videos that need captions. I have about half of them done now (through 2011, I believe, as well as my most recent two), but I think I'll have to finish the rest some other time, as the joints of my fingers are starting to protest my typing.

Tomorrow I leave for school. We packed the van, and I don't think I'm forgetting anything. Wish me luck!

January 8th, 2014

I thought I'd put out another book review, this time of I text I bought at a bookstore while in Iowa with my folks for Christmas. The title is Handfasting and Wedding Rituals: Inviting Hera's Blessing, by Raven Kaldera and Tannin Schwartzstein (2003).

I'd like to preface my actual review by saying that I really, really liked this book. It was incredibly inclusive and accessible, and altogether a thoughtful, well-composed read.

Never having seen a text solely devoted to Pagan weddings before, I immediately knew that this was going to be a take-home item for me. Regardless of whether or not I ever have a handfasting ritual of my own, the fact remains that I have multiple friends who might, and truthfully, it seems important to understand the wedding ceremonial practices of whatever religion one subscribes to. 

The book has a dozen or so subheadings, and the information therein spans everything from party favors and choices of incense to developing Quarter calls which won't freak out any of the non-Pagans in the crowd. In fact, that's one thing among many that the book does very well - developing level one, two, and three suggestions, the authors provide varying levels of Pagan over- and undertones. For example, if one wants a handfasting but also wants to invite one's extremely conservative Christian relatives, Raven and Tannin offer level one rituals wherein the Paganism is there, but it's subtle enough that it shouldn't cause an issue. If one is on the opposite end of the spectrum and wants a hardcore Pagan wedding with as much overt ritual as possible, they provide that, too, in the level three handfastings. Level two rituals are written to be somewhere in the middle - a bit of Pagan Lite, if you will - for people whose family and friends are generally supportive, but would be uncomfortable with an ultra-Pagan ceremony.

Another thing that the book does incredibly well is to develop rituals that any couple can participate in. If one or more partners has a physical disability, but would still like to incorporate the traditional jumping of the broomstick, Raven and Tannin provide accessible alternatives. For all those same-sex Pagan couples out there? Raven and Tannin have an entire chapter devoted to LGBTQ+ handfastings, with specific rituals for transgender, genderfluid, bisexual, and polyamourous couples, in addition to the commonly-acknowledged gay and lesbian relationships. Moreover, for those same-sex couples who want to incorporate the symbolic Great Rite in a way they can identify with, the authors provide solutions. Is your significant other of a different religion? Raven and Tannin take that into account as well, providing examples of how to blend wedding traditions across religious lines for Catholics, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, and so forth. 

For all my fellow theatre lovers out there, have you considered including a bit of drama in your handfasting? If reenactment of mythological weddings (Hades and Persephone, Janet and Tam Lin, etc.) sounds like something you might be interested in, this book provides sample scripts, as well as ideas for costumes and props.

No book is ever perfect, but in general my criticisms here are minor ones. On occasion, the language used was probably more appropriate to the year in which it was published then present day. Couples may find that the substitution of a word here or there is the only change really necessary.

Also, it would have been nice to see a handfasting included for we Pagans on the asexual spectrum. So much of the language in our rituals, no matter which book one reads, focuses on fertility, sacred sex, and etcetera. I don't take issue with that - in many cases, the language is beautifully poetic - but it's not the intent of every couple to "get busy" after they're married. That being said, most of the rituals are pretty easily adapted by changing a handful of words, so it's not like it's a huge deal, either. 

Anyway, if you have any interest in learning more about handfasting in Pagan traditions, I strongly recommend you check out this book.